Maastricht

Maastricht is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands, serving as the provincial capital of Dutch Limburg. The city is located on both sides of the Maas River, and its name comes from the Roman name Traiectum Mosae, meaning "crossing at the Meuse"; Maastricht and Nijmegen compete for the title of the oldest city in the Netherlands, while Maastricht is certainly the oldest continually-inhabited. Maastricht developed from a Roman town to a medieval religious center, a garrison town, and an early industrial city over the years, and it became an affluent cultural center during the 20th and 21st centuries. The town is popular among tourists for shopping and recreation, and it is well-known as the birthplace of the European Union and the euro currency. The region is a part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, which links it to the cities of Aachen, Eupen, Hasselt, Liege, and Tongeren. In 2014, Maastricht had a population of 277,721 people.